Women’s Fiction

Fortunate

Fortunate
Title: Fortunate
ASIN: B00DGQ9DJO
Publisher:
Published: June 17, 2013
Author's Twitter: @AndrewJHSharp
Locked into a lonely future by a cruel twist of fate, Beth reaches breaking point, leaves her husband, and flees to faraway Zimbabwe. But there she finds herself at the centre of a deadly struggle for the ownership of a farm. From a guest of honour at the President’s table to a disastrous decision that betrays a good man, her fresh start threatens to end in catastrophe. Does the land and its painted rocks hold clues to atonement and re-found love?

Assessed 

No Stranger to Death

No Stranger to Death
Title: No Stranger to Death
ASIN: B00GS1GF0E
Author's Twitter: @JanetOkane
A Scottish village. A burning corpse. Some very dark secrets. Can recently-widowed Doctor Zoe Moreland discover who’s killing her patients in time to save herself from becoming the next victim? Recently-widowed Doctor Zoe Moreland moves from an English city to a village in the Scottish Borders for a fresh start among strangers unaware of her tragic past. However, any hopes she had of a quiet life are dashed by her dog finding a woman’s body in the remains of a Guy Fawkes bonfire. Although the last thing Zoe wants is to get caught up in a murder investigation, this changes when someone else dies unexpectedly and she herself narrowly escapes death. Determined not to become the killer’s next victim, she digs beneath the tranquil surface of the close-knit community to find out who is committing these horrible acts. And discovers that some secrets can be deadly.

Assessed for 

The First Noble Truth

First Noble Truth, The
Machiko Yamamoto pulls out her hair, picks at her skin, and triple checks the locks to the house behind the school where she works. When a foreigner moves into a neighboring thatched roof cottage, she quickly falls in love with the quiet woman with the mangled hand.   Machiko Yamamoto pulls out her hair, picks at her skin, and triple checks the locks to the house behind the school where she works. When a foreigner moves into a neighboring thatched roof cottage, she quickly falls in love with the quiet woman with the mangled hand. Krista Black does not mind the weekly visits from the local English teacher. The scarred woman seems harmless, but she always wants to talk about travel and language and why Krista has come to the remote, Japanese village. Krista avoids her questions. She has seen much of the world, and she knows what it does to fragile people. Machiko may want to know her, but she could never understand her. Set in Kyoto, New England, Africa and Kathmandu, The First Noble Truth is a story of redemption, interwoven between two protagonists, across two cultures. It peers beneath the comfort of expected storytelling to investigate the dualities of suffering and joy, religion and sex, and cruelty and kindness.

This title is no longer on sale.

Assessed 

Tea Cups & Tiger Claws

TEA CUPS & TIGER CLAWS
Title: TEA CUPS & TIGER CLAWS
ASIN: B00HKN1J3M
Published: January 8, 2014
Author:
First comes the miracle and then comes the madness. The miracle is the birth of identical triplets, and the madness is all about money, of course. The year is 1916 and the newborn baby girls have become pint-size celebrities. Unfortunately, this small portion of fame soon leads to a much larger portion of greed, and the triplets are split up—parceled out to the highest bidders. Two of the girls go to live in a hilltop mansion. The third girl isn’t so lucky. She ends up with a shady family that lives in an abandoned work camp. That’s how their lives begin: two on top, one on the bottom, and all three in the same small town. And when their worlds collide, as they must, the consequences are extreme. “Tea Cups & Tiger Claws” spans three generations and takes the reader from a shantytown to a gilded mansion, from sacrificial love to the darkest of human impulses.

Assessed 

A Very French Affair

A Very French Affair
Title: A Very French Affair
ASIN: B00BEYZ5FQ
Tag:
Publisher:
Published: January 9, 2014
We've all seen those three little words...je t'aime ...but will this be the case for Margaret? When Margaret discovers her fiancé is cheating on her, she leaves England in search of a new life and a new dream. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Margaret is determined to put romance out of her life and avoid forming personal ties. On the beautiful French south coast, Margaret lands herself with a plum job and is happy to forget her worthless old flame. Things are looking up, until a series of events draw her into meeting handsome Frenchman Jean-Paul. Despite her reservations, Margaret begins to let down her guard with inevitable consequence. Margaret falls deeply in love, but struggles with her conscious after discovering Jean-Paul is married. Despite his declaration of a loveless marriage, should Margaret continue with her new affair? Her old life haunts and scares her…Should she choose a secure, safe life, immersed in her work, or one filled with passion and excitement with the sexy Frenchman? In her darkest hours, can she trust him with her heart?... Has she found a safe haven? Or is she poised on the brink of the abyss… NB. A box of Kleenex is essential when reading this novel.

Assessed for 

 

The Awful Mess

The Awful Mess
Title: The Awful Mess
ASIN: B00DHX0GNS
Published: January 17, 2014
Author's Twitter: @sheerhubris
In this witty and affectionate debut, a “heathen” divorcee, an unhappily-married priest, and a handsome cop get into an awful mess in a very small town.

Assessed 

 

Holding On

Holding On
Title: Holding On
ASIN: B00FGAG18Y
Category:
Published: September 25, 2013
Author:
‘There were certain events, things that happened to you in life that were best forgotten about. If you didn't think or talk about them then they didn't have power over you, did they?’ Set in the village of Heatherton, the entwined lives of Beth and Peter Scott and Charlotte Gardner are disrupted by changes beyond their control. When their pasts catch up with them, their lives and relationships begin to unravel. Beth has boxed and buried away her childhood secret. When award-winning war photographer Don Meadon returns to the area to promote his autobiography, Beth has to confront the damaging effects of her abused past. Since the death of his mum, Peter and his dad, Edward, have been exceptionally close, working together at the family carpentry business. When Edward retires to Spain and meets Fiona, Peter struggles to cope with his dad leaving him. When Robert Armstrong arrives in the village as her temporary deputy, Charlie, head teacher of Heatherton Junior School, finds herself attracted to him. But she’s been hurt badly in the past, so when Robert tries to pursue a relationship, she is reluctant to take a chance.

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

Blue Mercy

Blue Mercy: An Irish Family Drama
Title: Blue Mercy: An Irish Family Drama
ASIN: B008RJXN7S
Published: December 13, 2013
Author:
When Mercy Mulcahy was 40 years old, she was accused of killing her elderly and tyrannical father. Now, at the end of her life, she has written a book about what really happened on that fateful night of Christmas Eve, 1989. The tragic and beautiful Mercy has devoted her life to protecting Star, especially from the father whose behavior so blighted her own life. Yet Star vehemently resists reading her manuscript. Why? What is Mercy hiding? Was her father's death, as many believe, an assisted suicide?

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

Aunt Nellie B

Aunt Nellie B
Title: Aunt Nellie B
ASIN: B00FURFQV6
Category:
Publishers: ,
Published: November 12, 2013
Charli is convinced that the women in her family are the victims of a curse—they go through husbands at an alarming rate. At a very young age, she begins a journal. The adult conversations are often bewildering. How can she avoid the curse? Aunt Nellie must have the answers. The journal reappears at critical moments in Charli’s life, and beautiful Aunt Nellie is linked to each rediscovery. Each time Charli reads the journal, she learns new secrets, and gains new insights. Will she find the answer, or will she, too, fall victim?

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards